METAL/NONMETAL MINE FATALITY - On May 21, 2003, a 50-year-old foreman with 29 years mining experience was fatally injured at a surface sand and gravel operation. The victim was in the process of making a splice in a 480-volt power cable that energized a water pump. As the victim attempted to remove the insulation, he contacted a live conductor, which resulted in a fatal electrical shock.

Best Practices

Buried power conductors and cables, especially those located beneath roadways, should be enclosed in conduit.

Ensure that the power is deenergized and the power circuits are locked out and tagged out before work is done on the circuits.

Discuss work procedures and identify all hazards associated with the work to be performed along with the methods to properly protect personnel.

Submit your own suggestion for a remedy to prevent this type of accident in the future. Please specify if you wish your submission to be anonymous or whether your name may be used. Please include the year of the fatality and the fatality number.

This is the tenth fatality reported in calendar year 2003 in the metal and nonmetal mining industries. As of this date in 2002, there were sixteen fatalities reported in these industries. This is the first fatality classified as electrical in 2003. There were no electrical fatalities in the same period in 2002.

The information provided in this notice is based on preliminary data ONLY and does not represent final determinations regarding the nature of the incident or conclusions regarding the cause of the fatality.